Chapter 135: 183, 184

In the Song Prince Mansion, the glazed roof tiles reflected the sky, casting light onto the long hair of the young girl beneath them; when the wind blew, her hair would ripple, presenting a bright beauty like the shimmering light on a lake.

But the girl's face was cold, and between her delicate, icy brows, the word "unhappy" was written in full.

She sketched quickly and freely, and with a flourish of her brush, a symmetrical little monkey was drawn.

Immediately, she took out a piece of skin prepared in advance, spread it out on the pear-wood table before her, and skillfully laid the drawing of the symmetrical little monkey flat on top of it.

That skin had been processed beforehand; the fur and debris on its surface, and even the grease and bits of flesh attached to the inside, had long been cleared away, and it had been soaked, cleaned, and dried, thus presenting a smooth, transparent, and crystalline feel.

The girl lowered her head, gripped a carving knife, and began to carve along the pattern.

Once finished, she took a beast-shaped paperweight to press the carved monkey skin flat, then took out a needle and thread, carefully and slowly stitched the little monkey together, twisted her waist, turned to the side, lowered her head, bent over to soak it in the well water from the bucket at her side, and then brought it to her lips to blow on it gently.

The monkey visibly plumped up, then changed and changed again, turning into a furry little monkey that scratched its ears and cheeks, made faces, and leaped up and down between the old tree and the roof ridge behind the girl with "squeak, squeak, squeak" sounds, making the branches sway with a whooshing sound and the roof ridge rattle with a clattering sound.

The little monkey seemed to sense its master's intent; as it jumped, its form suddenly swelled, expanding into a giant monkey phantom over two zhang tall, and with two "bang, bang" sounds, it knocked a rockery in the corner of the wall flying.

This little monkey was no ordinary monkey; it was a "Su Keshi monkey" made from the skin of "Su Keshi who had eaten Flat Peaches."

Su Keshi had eaten six Flat Peaches, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, and though he had not yet undergone a tribulation, he had already reached the Mysterious Grade Grade C; if it were a different time and place, he might well have been destined to be a protagonist.

In the search for treasures by various parties, he had gained precious treasures with excellent luck, then escaped from the encirclement, and was later hunted down.

If this wasn't the life of a protagonist, what was? It was just a pity... "The grand plans for hegemony all came to nothing," and the "villain" in this instance was too fierce; Su Keshi, this "protagonist," was killed directly before he could even display his abilities, and now he had turned into a "monkey" for a little girl to play with at will.

However, if he knew in the underworld that the final fate of that "Holy Heaven Buddha," who had plotted for a thousand years and was revered by ten thousand people, was also to turn into a "rabbit," perhaps his mood would be much better.

Song Cheng doted on his little darling, so he had also developed the habit of "killing and skinning corpses."

No matter which expert he slaughtered, he would always bring back a little bit of skin for his daughter.

To ordinary people, this habit was certainly twisted and strange, even possessing a terrifying, extremely evil implication... but to put it plainly, it was also a father not forgetting to bring a small gift for his daughter in the midst of a great battle.

After the Su Keshi monkey finished a flurry of punches, it retracted its fists, then ran to the side, grabbed some skins in the washbasin to clean them, and while washing, used its furry hands to grab a scraper from the side, diligently scraping those skins.

As it scraped and washed, the fur gradually became smooth.

The Su Keshi monkey then grabbed the fur and hung it on a rope to the side as if hanging out clothes.

On the other side, An Chenyu, having heard the commotion, walked over quickly; seeing the scattered rockery and then looking at that monkey, she was truly furious.

But before she could speak, A Ting said: "Mother, it is easy to want me to go on a date with someone; whichever young man can defeat my little monkey, I will agree to date him."

Having said this, she beckoned, and the little monkey turned a somersault from afar, jumped over, stood on her shoulder, and made squeaking sounds.

An Chenyu did not see the power of this little monkey, as she did not yet know that her daughter had begun to use human skin to sew animals; seeing her daughter say this, she thought her daughter had softened her stance, so her tone became gentle, but she still asked hesitantly: "Is this true?"

"True."

A Ting said.

An Chenyu walked closer, gently took her hand, and said softly: "Don't blame Mother; Mother knows you have some ability, but... you still have to live your life well.

If you don't find someone to rely on when you are young, and don't experience all the joys and sorrows of the human world, then it is not a complete life.

When you are old, you will regret it."

A Ting did not have the slightest talent for cultivation; in other words, she could not even obtain the "three sixty-year cycles of the Qi Realm," nor the "three sixty-year cycles of the Pseudo-Mysterious."

She was destined to live for only a few decades.

An Chenyu, however, could break through the Qi Realm with Song Cheng's help, then improve as much as possible, and if that still didn't work, she would take Song Cheng's secret medicine to reach the Pseudo-Mysterious.

In her view, the ending between her and A Ting was very likely to be "the white-haired sending off the black-haired."

Every time she thought of this, her heart ached unbearably, so... she was particularly anxious about A Ting's marriage.

She hoped A Ting would have a complete life, rather than ending her life in isolation and loneliness.

Pity the hearts of parents everywhere; An Chenyu had tasted the bitterness of loneliness when she was young, so she did not want her daughter to have even a bit of it.

"Where is Father?" A Ting asked again.

An Chenyu said: "Your father and Third Mother went to undergo some tribulation, Mother isn't very clear either... but since you have agreed, Mother will start making arrangements."

As a mother, An Chenyu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and her worried brows smoothed out a lot.

That day, the Song Prince Mansion spread the word about "Young Miss Song's dating requirements."

For a time, the mansion was bustling with visitors, and many young heroes came one after another to submit their letters of introduction and register their names to arrange a challenge time... among them, whether they had seen A Ting or not, they all signed up.

There was no other reason; the benefits of becoming the Song Prince's son-in-law were simply too great.

The minor nobles did not know the Song Prince's background, but they could all feel the Song Prince's mystery, so they urged their own sons to try their luck; even if they couldn't marry her, they could still make friends with other young heroes of the same age in the process.

And those with power and influence did not just "feel" it; they were very clear about the Song Prince's terror.

Even though they did not know that "Xuanwu Emperor" and "Xuan Nu Niang Niang" were both Song Cheng, they could vaguely feel Song Cheng's revered status among the major powers.

Becoming the son-in-law of such a man was simply a step into the sky.

As for that girl named A Ting, it would be fine even if she were just kept at home as an ornament.

Of course, besides young men, there were also young girls who signed up.

Among these girls, many had had feelings for Song An; seeing that Song An had not been seen for a long time, they disguised themselves as men and wanted to come to the Song Mansion to find out the truth... and Song An, as A Ting's younger brother, had originally been in his room studying techniques and contemplating military books, but hearing the great commotion made by his eldest sister in the neighboring courtyard, he couldn't help but become interested.

He knew about his sister sewing animals.

Regarding this, he also regarded it as a secret and kept his mouth shut.

But he also didn't know that his sister's animals were actually so terrifying... so, he also felt that this was his eldest sister's compromise to their mother.

At this moment, the dashing young man leaped a few times, climbed onto the roof ridge, lay on the eaves with his legs crossed, looked at his sister painting in the courtyard, and said: "Eldest Sister, want to get married?

After you get married, if your husband's family bullies you, you report my name, Song An.

If that husband's family still doesn't care, I, Song An, will lead troops to help you teach them a harsh lesson."

A Ting didn't even turn her head, just said "Oh."

Ever since Song An was severely taught a lesson by his old man, he had been at home and was bored to death.

Seeing his eldest sister still looking cold and icy, he teased again: "Eldest Sister, this won't do, oh; do you want me to teach you a few methods for dealing with men? Hehe... hehehe!"

He was knowledgeable and experienced, and was preparing to show off.

But he had only said two sentences when he saw a shadow coming from afar; in the previous instant he had just seen it, and in the next instant it was already before his eyes.

The monkey casually stretched out a hand, grabbed, and caught Song An, who was at the Completion of the Form Realm.

The monkey and Song An stared at each other.

Song An:??? Questions flashed through his mind like rain, and immediately after, he was tossed out like a ball.

Song An landed in a courtyard in the distance; although he was completely unharmed, his mood was already vastly different from before.

He leaped again onto his elder sister's courtyard and shouted, "Sister, that's impressive."

A Ting said, "So annoying."

Song An chuckled.

Several days later.

Yan Rugui, full of confidence, came to the door, one man and one spear, looking high-spirited and vigorous.

Before a single move had passed, Yan Rugui was tossed out the door by the Su Keshi monkey.

A few more days passed.

Zhao Shenxiu arrived.

One move, defeated by the monkey.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!!

Inside the Song Prince Mansion, people were flying out from time to time.

And those flying out were all heroes gathered from various sides.

This situation lasted for a full half-month.

The young heroes of the world were all blocked at the door by a single monkey.

At the beginning, the heroes still felt humiliated, but as more and more people were tossed out, only sighs remained.

Rumors about that monkey also grew, but most people felt it was the terrifying demonic monkey of Jilei Mountain, tamed by the Song Prince and gifted to his daughter.

Meanwhile, An Chenyu's expression grew increasingly ugly.

She finally understood: A Ting had no intention of dating at all.

She had thought A Ting had softened her stance, but now it seemed she was the one who was too foolish.

In these few days, she didn't know how many heads and leaders of factions had come to seek her out, saying, "My child's strength is low and humble, insufficient to be a match for the Young Miss of the Song Prince Mansion, so we shall withdraw."

She had no words to reply and could only respond with a hollow laugh.

Boom!!

In the inner courtyard, An Chenyu heard yet another young hero being tossed out of the mansion and could no longer hold back. She said to A Ting, who was still over there drawing monkeys: "Mother didn't force you to marry immediately, but you have to date first. If you don't date, how will you know if you like someone or not? Now that you've tossed out all the young heroes who rushed here from all sides, what will you do if no one marries you in the future?"

A Ting stopped her brush and said, "Mother, you really want me to go on dates, don't you?"

An Chenyu said angrily, "Yes!"

A Ting put away her brush and beckoned.

Another monkey, besides the Su Keshi monkey, ran over to help A Ting tidy up her brushes, easel, drawing paper, painting skin basket, and so on. This monkey was the Zheng Gong monkey.

After Zheng Gong swallowed a Flat Peach and rebelled, and was subsequently killed by Su Mengzhen, a piece of its skin had been brought back and gifted to A Ting.

Now, that Zheng Gong had also become a new little monkey.

Although its strength was much weaker than when it was alive, it was still very strong.

"Mother, then I want to go out for a walk."

A Ting said, "I have stayed at home for too long and have never seen this Jianghu, the appearance of this human world, so I want to go and see it."

An Chenyu was stunned to see her like this; after hesitating repeatedly, she said, "You should act together with the Yin Gui Society; it will be a good chance to see the various states of the human world."

"Okay, Mother." A Ting replied obediently.

Then, the next day, when An Chenyu came to her daughter's courtyard again, she discovered that her daughter was gone.

She searched everywhere, but still could not find her.

She searched the entire Imperial Capital, but could not see her either.

An Chenyu was completely stunned and hurriedly issued the highest search order of the Yin Gui Society—to find A Ting.

On the other side, she also hurriedly rushed to the Gugong to find Zhao Hua, asking the government to help search as well.

The Young Miss of the Song Prince Mansion, being forced into marriage too severely, had... run away from home.

She carried her painting basket on her back, brought along the Ji Family Ancestor Rabbit, the Su Keshi monkey, the Su Houzhang rabbit, the Zheng Gong monkey, and many "strong little animals" of unknown identity, and traveled far to the ends of the earth. As the mysterious North-Falling Master Sect of the Yin Gui Society, she also controlled many clones; if A Ting did not want to be found, who could find her? Song Cheng was completely unaware of the chaos in his own home.

At this moment, he was with Su Ningyu, undergoing a tribulation.

But this time, the tribulation was different from before, whether it was Song Cheng alone or even with Su Mengzhen. When Song Cheng underwent the tribulation alone, he broke the situation with force, which was extremely complex.

That time with Su Mengzhen, Song Cheng was in control, but for Su Mengzhen, it was purely a free ride.

Neither of these was clearly the proper path.

According to the Xiao Family, "Suppression" was the true means to pass the Reappearance Tribulation.

Therefore, this time Song Cheng deliberately brought a statue of "Suppression" carved from Sun Nine-Pattern Gold.

Speaking of this statue, Song Cheng had once seen it on Su Keshi, and after testing, it confirmed one point: a scion of a noble family carrying "Suppression" could avoid being forcibly pulled into the Yin She by the family head.

At this moment in the Reappearance World... everything was reappearing.

Su Ningyu was knocked unconscious by human traffickers, thrown into an iron cage, and subsequently transported onto a ship.

After the ship went out to sea, Su Ningyu woke up amidst the tossing of the waves and the hard touch of the iron cage.

She also did not find Song Cheng, also began to feel dazed, and was also pulled open by the black cloth by that man with a handlebar mustache wearing wide, magnificent clothes, who brought over fragrant meat.

"Only animals can eat."

The man with the handlebar mustache clapped his hands and walked around with a smile. He pointed at the girl in front of the rabbit cage and said, "You must become a rabbit," and pointed at the girl in front of the sheep cage and said, "You must become a sheep." As for when he reached Su Ningyu, he smiled and said: "You must become a leopard."

At the beginning, no one imitated, but as time passed, everything returned to the scene that had once occurred in the Reappearance.

The ship tossed on the Canghai, rising and falling with the waves; not knowing how long it had been, it arrived at that familiar isolated island. Humans became beasts, beasts became humans; that was the twisting of the Soul.

Hallucinogenic drugs, combined with the pressure of survival, caused everyone to start becoming more and more like beasts.

Su Ningyu was the same.

That mysterious doctor arrived once more and began skin grafting again.

One by one, people completely turned into animals.

But when it was Su Ningyu's turn, the "Nine-Pattern Golden Zhen Statue" hanging on her chest suddenly emitted a dazzling radiance, and a strange heat spread outward.

Song Cheng, who had been silently watching the whole time, actually felt the unease of the Ghost of Human Skin.

And in the Reappearance World, Su Ningyu's eyes suddenly became clear, then she struggled to break free from the mysterious doctor's hands and rushed outward. Everything began to spiral out of control.

Pure Yang energy and Yin energy became entangled, chasing and mating in the void.

The extreme Yin and extreme Yang have always been mutually exclusive, yet there is one exception: life.

Life is Yin Soul hidden within Yang energy.

That is a combination seemingly set by heaven and earth; a plain and unremarkable form in the mortal world, yet it is the greatest miracle in the world.

When the Yin energy began to bore into Su Ningyu's Soul, wanting to corrode her and control her, the "Zhen" radiated waves of heat, making it difficult for that Yin energy to continue.

Xiao Yu'er began to run away rapidly.

She had forgotten who she was and why she had come here, but she swung her arms, like a person escaping from hell, running without regard for where the future lay or how much energy she had left.

Her bare little feet kept stepping onto the ground and lifting again.

Soon, she rushed to the edge of the sea.

On the beach, azure waves curled, submerging the pale yellow gravel in waves and leaving behind colorful seashells.

Footprints would also disappear quickly after being formed.

Xiao Yu'er ran a trail of footprints, but more and more footprints began to appear behind her.

Because the people from the Extreme Bliss World had chased after her.

But when they chased to a certain point, an invisible barrier blocked them.

Xiao Yu'er was on this side of the barrier, and the Ghost servants of the Extreme Bliss World were on the other side.

The two sides stood in a standoff.

And during this standoff, the scenery on both sides began to slowly dim, as if an ink wash painting were being washed by water, becoming increasingly faint. Song Cheng watched this scene and generally understood: "Zhen" is a special power that can allow the power of the Sun Nine-Pattern Gold to permeate the Reappearance World, and it can also protect the person undergoing the tribulation.

This time, Xiao Yu'er did not need him to intervene and successfully passed the tribulation on her own.

As the painting completely faded, Su Ningyu's memories also began to recover rapidly.

On the beach, Song Cheng appeared.

Su Ningyu grabbed his hand, grinning excitedly with her little tiger teeth, and said, "Song Cheng! Song Cheng! I passed the tribulation myself!"

Her crystalline little feet jumped on the fading beach and landed again.

Footprints appeared, then were wiped away.

Her snow-white skin, naive expression, and the sincerity that rushed toward him infected even Song Cheng, making him unable to help but feel happy along with her.

"Don't get excited too early, there is still one more tribulation."

"It'll be no problem."

Su Ningyu smiled, revealing two cute little dimples; she hugged Song Cheng tightly and said excitedly, "Husband, when I successfully pass the tribulation, let's have a baby, okay?"

She had been imitating her sister all along, always feeling that she was not mature enough.

And perhaps, if she gave birth to a baby and became a mother, would that be enough? The Reappearance Tribulation causes great fluctuations in the heart.

Clearly, Su Ningyu saw her direction in her heart: perhaps she wanted to become an intellectual, elegant, and proper woman like her sister, or perhaps she would be a very, very good mother; she wanted her child to be well cared for and never let the child leave their parents, no matter how great the excuse for that departure might be.

Song Cheng nodded gently.

This time, he actually had gains as well.

Just as "Zhen" exerted its power, he faintly felt from it the kind of aura he had previously sensed at Yaochi Peak on Jilei Mountain.

"Zhen" and "that person on Jilei Mountain" definitely had an inextricable connection... even if not, they were of the same kind.

He slowly shook his head and temporarily put the thought away.

Afterward, he and Xiao Yu'er entered the second Reappearance Ghost Prison of the "Double Ghost".

A cold, infinite, hungry, yet deathless Tower appeared before the two of them.

Xiao Yu'er clutched the "Zhen".

When the cold struck, the "Zhen" would provide warmth.

Thus, the two kept climbing the stairs.

The spiral staircase was like a road to heaven, winding and long, with no top in sight; the pitch-black journey and the monotonous, unchanging scenery would never change.

However, with the protection of the "Zhen", Xiao Yu'er did not end up like Su Mengzhen before.

Her body was warm, and the "Zhen" was like a bright lamp in the dark night, illuminating a small, warm Domain.

As for Song Cheng, he also had the intention to take this opportunity to see what "his own Reappearance World" actually was.

Regarding his own transmigration, he already had some guesses.

Before he transmigrated, he went to play in that Ancient Tower.

It was highly likely that he died in the Tower, otherwise... the "Reappearance World" could not be explained.

Besides this, he also noticed his "Golden Finger".

Among them, "marital harmony" to Add Points every day, as well as the display of strength and favorability, were cheats he had edited himself.

However, the Nine-Layer Nether Tower was clearly related to the Ancient Tower that "killed him and let him be reborn in another world."

The sources of the two were different.

The former belonged entirely to himself.

The latter, however, had an unknown origin... this unknown latter gave him terrifying help, completely surpassing the Yin She of the great families in terms of rank.

But it was clear that this Ghost Tower and the Yin She were of the same type of thing, otherwise they would not be so compatible.

After understanding that the "Reappearance World is a pre-death playback of an extremely painful Soul," Song Cheng became wary of the "Nine-Layer Nether Tower." And now, since he possessed the "Suppress," he wanted to deduce the "Reappearance World within the Ghost Tower" further, so that he could see how he died before transmigrating. After all, everything Xiao Yu'er was experiencing now should be what he had truly experienced back then.

The young couple walked and walked.

At first, they were still chatting, laughing, and even discussing cultivation techniques and such.

But slowly, not knowing how long they had walked, the laughter and chatter vanished.

Xiao Yu'er clearly felt the air turn cold, and the Domain of light emitted by the "Suppress" was also shrinking.

However, she was not worried, because she had known before coming: this was Song Cheng's Immortal Tower.

And she also knew that Song Cheng was both the Xuanwu Emperor and the Xuan Nu Niang Niang.

With such a powerful being accompanying her, what could possibly go wrong? More time passed, not knowing how much, and everything remained the same.

The monotonous, repetitive scenery, the pitch-black and gloomy floors.

Moonlight suddenly appeared in the air, twisted moonlight. As soon as the moonlight appeared, the light of the "Suppress" suddenly contracted, *whoosh*, like a faint bean-sized flame extinguished by a sudden rainstorm and gale.

The freezing cold made one's scalp tingle, and that chill was still drilling into the skull.

The darkness stung one's eyes, and then slowly stripped away all of one's vision.

*Snap! * Xiao Yu'er suddenly tripped and fell.

For some reason, Song Cheng's reaction was half a beat slow.

He reached out belatedly, but only touched a skeleton.

That skeleton seemed to have endured hundreds of years, long since withered and decayed, to the point that a light touch felt as if it would crumble and break.

Song Cheng felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, then suddenly, his entire being burned with rage.

But shortly after, hurried footsteps came from behind him, accompanied by a familiar cry.

"Song Cheng, Song Cheng!"

"Xiao Yu'er!"

Song Cheng ran back, then hurriedly grabbed her hand.

"Are you alright?"

"I... I don't know what happened? Just now, I felt like I died once... it was so painful."

Song Cheng said, "This time, hold onto me tightly, and don't let go no matter what."

After saying that, he shook his head again and said, "I'll carry you on my back!"

Immediately, he carried Xiao Yu'er on his back, and then step by step, he continued to ascend toward the moonlight.

As they walked, stone windows the size of human heads suddenly began to appear on the tower walls.

When Song Cheng passed a certain spot, he looked out thoughtfully, only to see a massive face with eyes tightly shut outside the window, as if... a human were holding a microscope to observe bacteria, but had fallen asleep while watching.

*Bang! Bang-bang-bang! Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang! * Song Cheng's pupils constricted, and his heart suddenly began to beat wildly.

(End of this chapter)